real estate titling question

[TrustUser]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? ca

i am helping my sister with estate documents. she and her husband found and bought a house a month before they were married. so there was a joint tenancy grant deed granting to john jones, a single man and mary smith, a single woman.

they got divorced a few years later. for a settlement cost, her husband quitclaimed the property to her.

the wording was john jones hereby blah blah to mary jones, also known as mary smith, a married woman as her sole and separate property.

we are putting it in a trust. i was thinking i should use the exact wording of the quitclaim document (that hopefully got bolded), as the grantor in the grant deed that will grant to the trustee ?

any thoughts ?

 

[FlyingRon]

Her name should be sufficient. I wouldn't put "a married woman" in there when she is no longer.

 

[nextwife]

How does she NOW hold title? What was the name to whom he quit claimed?

 

[TrustUser]

hi ron,

i was wondering about this myself, which is why i asked my sister about her divorce document. the divorce decree occurred before the quitclaim deed, so i dont think she was technically married at the time of the quitclaim deed.

hi nextwife,

i have not gone down to the county recorder and examined all and any documents against the house. i am just aware of these 2 documents. i have asked my sister to get me a property tax statement. i think that just shows her as mary jones, her married name. the one thing i know for positive, is that she kept her married name, so she is mary jones for the past 30 years. and she has never remarried.

 

[TrustUser]

i forgot to add "thank you for your comments".

 

[nextwife]

It is important to know how title is now vested to answer your question, and how she originally took title.

 

[TrustUser]

hi nextwife,

if you reread my first post, it says how title was taken originally, and then how it was then quitclaimed.

i dont know for positive, but i dont think there are any other documents recorded that would have affected the titling.

 

[TrustUser]

i got a copy of her annual property tax bill. the mailing address simply uses her married name, which in my example, would be mary jones.

from my research, if one uses "unmarried woman", one would not include the phrase "as her sole and separate property".

that phrase seems to be only if the person is married.

i dont know if i should include her maiden name, since it was placed on the quitclaim deed, and of course she took original title to it with her maiden name.

so i am thinking either

1) mary jones, an unmarried woman

-OR-

2) mary jones, also known as mary smith, an unmarried woman

if push comes to shove, i think i will be okay, since one thing i do is place the thumb print of the grantor on the grant deed.

along with it being notarized, there should be plenty of evidence that the real owner is signing the document.

 

[nextwife]

Is there a mortgage, and does the divorce decree contain any language requiring payoff or refinance of the mortgage (to remove the ex) by any certain date or occassion?

The reason you need to KNOW how title is actually now held is that there could have been an intervening conveyance which may have added a party to title. Current vesting affects the estates rights to the property. How it was vested when this or that occurred does not prove how title is NOW held. You need to do your due diligence.

 

[tranquility]

I wonder about such things too.

That's why I rely on people who do this all day, all the time to advise me.

Realistically? I don't read all the cases which come out. While I can give direction, deeds are forever.

You should be *right* on forever.

See an attorney who deals with property law.

 

[TrustUser]

thanks guys,

i do know that she was forced to pay her ex a sum of money in order for him to quitclaim the property to her, as part of the divorce settlement. she obtained a second mortgage for that, which has been paid off.

currently there is no mortgage on the property, and there hasnt been one for over 10 years.

while i am pretty sure i would be fine, the reason i am here is because deeds are forever, and i want to be more than pretty sure.

but i am more inclined to have her hire the company who issued her title insurance, as opposed to a real estate attorney.

 

[TrustUser]

was able to contact the county assessor. only the 2 documents that i previously mentioned have been recorded.

so i at least now know that i have everything in front of me, regarding the change in title.

i called the title company, but they only prepare deeds for current escrows.

 

[nextwife]

was able to contact the county assessor. only the 2 documents that i previously mentioned have been recorded.

so i at least now know that i have everything in front of me, regarding the change in title.

i called the title company, but they only prepare deeds for current escrows.

Since when are mortgages or divorce decrees in the hands of the assessor? The assessor is not the source for status of title.

 

[FlyingRon]

Divorce decrees (and their related property settlement) don't transfer property and frankly our courthouse doesn't even want to see them. All they want is a deed signed by the grantor and they code the reason for transfer (oddly they seem not overly concerned about verifying this).

 

[TrustUser]

the divorce settlement is the reason for the second document, the quitclaim deed.

these are the only 2 documents that affect the title of the property. (the original grant deed with both as single people, and the quitclaim deed to my sister with her married name, also known as her unmarried name).

thanks for your replies.